Hi there, I'm alive - promise

I've been neglecting this for a while now. So what have I've been up to? Not much. A bit of school, a bit of chasing economics reports from a company (more school, that is) and mastering the art of CAD (even more school). I have now mastered the art of incorporating ground into the CADimage/plan/thingy, look for yourselves:



Impressive huh :p Otherwise I am proud to announce that I have a "fadderföretag". They're called Structor and have a nice little office in the old mining area in Falun.


It's not every company that has a huge stone heap outside their window ^_^

And while I'm at it, here are some pics from my apartment:


This is exactly one half of my Christmas decorations. The other half is that pagan candelabra of ours in the window.


This is where I (sadly) spend a third of my days. If you look closely you will see the candelabra on the window shelf...


In order to get to and from my bed I have to pass this stair, which is more correctly defined as a death-trap, as I'm sure Da-Ryun and Sara could testify to. Believe me, you do not move hastily on the way to the bathroom in the morning. And I always make sure to bring my cellphone with me when I go to bed...

Well, that's about it. I might get back with a crappy youtube video of a bunch of Italians playing in the snow back in October, if I figure out how to do it.

Have you ever noticed that interesting things happen to interesting people? I wonder why that is...

Lenin is here among us

Remember that Lenin-statue in Poland that they tore down a while ago (I'm not sure, but I think it was this spring)? It was a lot of fuzz about it and the Russians were pissed as hell. Anyway, a company in Vittsjö in Skåne has been trading with a Russian plywood factory for 15 years, and to celebrate that the Russians sent them a little present - a three meter statue of Lenin, with a mended crack across it's chest...

Lucid dreams

Wow, who knew sleeping could be so... exhausting! Woke up yesterday with a major cold, it sucks. Spent the entire day doing nothing and playing WiC - and boy was that a mistake! Went to bed early - I mean 9 pm early - but couldn't sleep. First, I lay there in my PJs under two covers, shivering like a sheep in the presence of the Overlord. I was so could I could not believe it. After about two hours I got a text message and snapped out of some kind of trance-like state only to realize that I was being cooked alive under those covers. Then I couldn't sleep at all for a while before I started slipping in and out of consciousness every hour or so. My dreams weren't very coherent, but I think I was commanding an army. Sending tanks here, ordering artillery fire there. I distinctly remember deploying smoke-screens... At about 3 am I had to go to the bathroom. Then I got the shivers again for an hour or so. Last time I looked at my clock was one hour before the alarm went off. When it was finally time to get up I decided that it was probably for the best to stay home today. I went back to bed and the minute I got under that cover I started sweating like a pig! So I switched to a thinner cover and actually managed to sleep for a few hours, although a few units passed through my dreams - along with the usual weirdness of my half-wake dreams.

Isolation

Hmm, I think my survival-skills are a bit numb. Yesterday, less than 500m from where I live a man was shot. I hadn't noticed. I never went outside yesterday, that might be the reason. And I don't watch TV, or read the news. If my mother hadn't mentioned it it would probably have taken me an other day or so to find out. A set of guide-lines from now on: 1) Don't go out alone in the middle of the night (which I have frequently done both in Uppsala and in Karlstad.) 2) Hmm... Actually I think that will be enough. The risk of any shoot-out at Locus is minimal. The doors have electronical locks and I think there's about 120 people living here - most of them Chinese.

Öhm, j***vla SJ, antar jag?

OK, det här var för konstigt och jag är för trött, så det får bli på svenska.

Tidigare i kväll – den 26:e oktober – åkte jag med SJ:s InterCity tåg från Uppsala till Borlänge. Från Uppsala var tåget ett par minuter försenat och sedan fick det stå och vänta på ett anslutande tåg i Sala. Detta innebar att anslutningen från Borlänge till Mora skulle få vänta in vårt tåg och därför var det många vana resenärer som i god tid (redan i Säter) reste sig och hämtade sina väskor för att så snabbt som möjligt kunna ta sig till det andra tåget. Själv satt jag ganska nära utgången och hade inte speciellt brottom, så jag väntade tills kön passerat mig innan jag reste mig för att gå av.

Detta tog flera minuter eftersom det var minst 20 resenärer som skulle gå ut genom samma dörr varav 5-10 kom direkt från Arlanda med 20kg tunga resväskor som de måste flytta omkring för att få fram sina egna. När det är ca 10 personer kvar i vagnen som inte hunnit kliva av börjar tåget rulla och dörren stängs. En man tränger sig förbi och öppnar dörren med nödöppningshandtaget för att sedan hoppa av tåget. Han följs av två andra och en tjej som kastar ut sin väska och hoppar av tåget. Vid det här laget är tåget uppe i en hastighet av 35-40 km/h och vi hinner precis se henne landa på sin väska och rulla på asfalten!

Kvar på tåget står nu jag och tre andra som skulle av i Borlänge och undrar vad vi ska göra. Tåget kör vidare med öppen dörr med ett tjutande larm. En av de andra resenärerna (ironiskt nog är han nyutbildad tågförare) går iväg och hämtar konduktören som pratar i telefon med lokföraren. Först ser han inte att dörren är öppen men när han upptäcker det säger han åt föraren att stanna tåget och stänger dörren. Tåget saktar ner men jag vet inte om det stannade helt. Vi hör nu konduktören fråga föraren om han kan stanna tåget så att vi kan kliva av det ner på spåret! Tydligen hade han tänkt att vi skulle gå tillbaks till stationen, efter att tåget hade rullat i flera minuter. Dessutom kan man ju undra vad Banverket har att säga om det förslaget…

Vi är alla ganska upprörda över hela situationen och en äldre kvinna som hörde till sällskapet med de tunga resväskorna – de hade tydligen varit i Kina – pratar i telefon med en av dem som hann stiga av tåget och frågar om det kan ordnas så att hennes taxi åker till Falun. När jag frågar konduktören hur vi ska ta oss från Falun till Borlänge svarar han att han har gjort vad han kan (frågat tågföraren om vi kan kliva av tåget mitt på spåret, alltså) och att det inte är hans fel att vi inte hann stiga av. En annan kvinna säger att hon anser att det är hans ansvar att kontrollera att alla har hunnit stiga av innan han startar tåget och han svarar att när han stängde dörren hade han kontrollerat att han inga fler resenärer var på väg av. Han säger också att det är upp till resenären att förbereda sig för avstigning och att se vi skulle ha gått till den andra dörren. När vi försöker förklara att det helt enkelt var för många som skulle av samtidigt och att alla var redo för avstigning och stod i kö fram till dörren vägrar han lyssna. Vi påpekar också att det korridoren var blockerad så att det inte gick att gå till den andra dörren eftersom de bakom i kön stod i vägen.

Han fortsätter att hävda att det inte är hans fel och att han inte tänker ta ansvar för hur vi ska ta oss tillbaks till Borlänge. Han upprepar flera gånger att han har jobbat i 10 timmar och snäser av när jag försöker fråga hur det är möjligt att tåget kan köra vidare när dörren är öppen och larmet tjuter. På det svarar han intressant nog att han inte kan se det vid de andra dörrarna. Sedan går han helt plötsligt iväg till en annan vagn utan att säga något. Efter några minuter kommer han tillbaks, pratandes i telefon med SJ, och säger att han har beställt en taxi åt oss som ska stå vid stationen när vi kommer fram. Han ber också om ursäkt samtidigt som vi hör honom säga i telefonen att han inte tänker ta ansvar för att taxin står där när vi kommer fram.

När vi kommer fram till Falun står det många taxibilar och väntar – men ingen är bokad av SJ. Efter några minuter kommer det två nya bilar – en från Borlänge taxi och en från Taxi Falun. Vi frågar om det är vår taxi men det är det tydligen inte. Då ser vi tågkonduktören komma gående på andra sidan parkeringen med en kvinnlig kollega. Han tittar åt vårt håll men fortsätter att gå. Till slut vänder han och går fram till oss och pratar med föraren från Borlänge Taxi och ordnar så att vi kan åka med den. När vi klivit in i taxin och börjat åka visar det sig att detta är den taxi som den äldre kvinnan som varit i Kina beställt.

Efter allt detta besvär hade det varit trevligt om vi hade fått skuts hela vägen hem men icke – när SJ beställer en taxi åt sina resenärer är det från station till station. Så när vi är framme i Borlänge är det bara att snällt vandra hemåt. Till slut är jag nu äntligen hemma klockan 23:50 – mer än en timme senare än om jag hade fått kliva av tåget på en gång. Jag vet inte var konduktören hette eftersom han inte hade någon namnbricka. Jag hoppas verkligen att jag aldrig behöver uppleva någonting liknande nästa gång jag åker tåg.

Synonyms

The word "Litter" is quite amazing when you look it up. It appears to be one of the most overused combinations of syllables in the English language - covering meanings from garbage to stretcher to animal babies. Dictionary.com:

Litter

9 dictionary results for: litter
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
lit•ter [lit-er] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1. objects strewn or scattered about; scattered rubbish.
2. a condition of disorder or untidiness: We were appalled at the litter of the room.
3. a number of young brought forth by a multiparous animal at one birth: a litter of six kittens.
4. a framework of cloth stretched between two parallel bars, for the transportation of a sick or wounded person; stretcher.
5. a vehicle carried by people or animals, consisting of a bed or couch, often covered and curtained, suspended between shafts.
6. straw, hay, or the like, used as bedding for animals or as protection for plants.
7. the layer of slightly decomposed organic material on the surface of the floor of the forest.
8. CAT LITTER.

–verb (used with object)
9. to strew (a place) with scattered objects, rubbish, etc.: to be fined for littering the sidewalk.
10. to scatter (objects) in disorder: They littered their toys from one end of the playroom to the other.
11. to be strewn about (a place) in disorder (often fol. by up): Bits of paper littered the floor.
12. to give birth to (young), as a multiparous animal.
13. to supply (an animal) with litter for a bed.
14. to use (straw, hay, etc.) for litter.
15. to cover (a floor or other area) with straw, hay, etc., for litter.
–verb (used without object)
16. to give birth to a litter: The cat had littered in the closet.
17. to strew objects about: If you litter, you may be fined.
—Idiom
18. pick of the litter,
a. the best or choicest of the animals, esp. puppies, in a litter.
b. the best of any class, group, or available selection.


[Origin: 1250–1300; ME litere bed, litter < AF; OF litiere < ML lectāria, equiv. to L lect(us) bed + -āria fem. of -ārius -ER2 ]

—Related forms
lit•ter•er, noun

Lonely, I am so lonely...

... I have nobody. I'm all on my own.
Quite pathetic, am I not? Mostly I am bored. Very, very, very bored. And currently checking my schedule to see if I might go to Uppsala next weekend. I crave some Mutant, and New York!

Home

I have now moved into my new place (yay!) and it's both smaller and bigger than I thought it would be. Smaller in terms of space for furniture but bigger because I managed to stash away all my possessions. As it turns out there already was a couch in here, so no bedsofa for now. But I have a twinbed and an air-mattres, so there is room for some visitors anyway.

Another Great One Falls

Paul Newman is dead.
He had reached the age of 83 and had cancer, so it was kind of expected - but nontheless it's sad.

Caravan Club

My parents are members in a local caravan club and have put our caravan in a permanent camping-site (not a trailer park, there are no such dreadful things in Sweden!) and from the things I hear them talk about the place is a regular soap opera. It reminds a lot of those gated communities in California where people fight over mailbox standards and the horrible behaviour of their neightbours'. I find it a bit tragic that they have finally decended to this level - before this they would at least take the caravan to some coastal city down in the south. Personally I kind of detest the whole practice of camping. It is uncomfortable and either too warm or too cold - especially when it rains. And if you by some lucky chance manage to get a lot where there is shadow over the caravan and the weather is nice you still have all those annoying neighbours with screaming and spoiled kids running around all day and, sometimes, all night. And there is no shower. In the morning you have to walk somewhere around 200m to get to the bathroom - where there is usually a long nice line.

Back when I was still doing orientering we used to take part in a five-day competition where some, I don't know, 7000 caravans where put up on huge fields with temporary bathrooms and cleaning stations (the showers were located at some sports-facility that was arranged to be in the centre of the camp). Obviously the conditions are even worse than at ordinary camping-spots but I actually tolerated those temporary mega camps to the holiday facilities. Manily because there where no real alternatives and you weren't there for the nice beach and the shopping... Then there's also the fact that some dozen of your friends were living in the same "block" - as opposed to on ordinary holidays when you are left to the mercy of your family (yay). Anyway, my point is - a summer/lakeside house and hotels are always to be prefered to a caravan (or a tent *shivering*). I think there was something else I was going to write but I forgot it... Right, that would be all for now - enjoy yourselves until next time! Ps. I move on saturday, yay!!! Ds.

My fair Lady and Beautiful towers

General announcement: I have bought two tickets to My Fair Lady saturday 10th of January. This is an open invitation to you guys to buy one of these tickets and go with me. I don't really care who so whoever pays me 430kr first gets it. Naturally, if there are more of you who want's to go one can buy the ticket from me and the others can buy their own tickets from ticnet.se. But there aren't too many left so you better hurry up! End of anouncement.

Yeasterday I went on sightseeing in Grängesberg. It sounds a bit odd, I know. This is what I looked at:


Not the old men, the windpower park behind them. Seriously, they're huge!


The one on the left is 105 m to the house and the wings are 45 m long, the same goes for that wing on the ground. The one on the right is 95 m + 40 m tall... And the view from those mountains is amazing!

Ignore those berry-picking smurfs.

All in all there will be 17 towers up there once they're done. There have been many complaints, mostly about how they look but also about the noise pollution they cause. Many people think they're ugly, and that they spoil the sceneries above. I actually find them quite beautiful, and I am almost as facinated of them as Da-Ryun is. What do you think? Take a look at this and tell me that I'm crazy when I say that it is just as beautiful as the two pictures above.

Report from the black forest

So, I'm starting to get strange questions like: Hey, what are you doing these days? Where are you? etc. Thus I started to realise that I haven't actually told anyone except Da-Ryun, Sara and Rikard where I am and presumed that the information had migrated. Obviously it hasn't, since Anton - who lives five yards from Rikard - aked me about this today.

This is the situation: I was to slow with my KE1201 - Gymnasiekemi A - (may the cursed thing forever burn in hell and sink into oblivion) and was therefore removed from the application-queue-thingy for Byggteknikprogrammet at Uppsala University. After a brief panic I then sent in an application to Lunds Tekniska Högskola i Helsingborg - the same programme. Because of my belatedness I was placed on 7th place on the reserve list and thus my chances of getting in were slim. Why, you might wonder? Because swedish universities has a fine institution called "överintag" which means that the university looks at the statistics to find out how many applicants usually fail to show up for registration and/or drop out in the first semester and decide on a number of students that will be accepted in addition to the number of places that they actually have on the programme. In Helsongborg that number is 10, which means that in order for me to get a late admission 17 persons would have to change their minds...

Therefore I somewhat reluctantly sent in an application for Byggingenjörsprogrammet att Högskolan dalrana, Borlänge. Truth to be told, I don't want to spend three years in Borlänge. I don't even want to spend one year in Borlänge. Why?! Have you been in Borlänge? It is probably the ugliest town in Dalarna - second to Grängesberg, that is. And it's boring. It has a high criminality rate. And student-wise it's dead. Seriously, for the entire campus in Borlänge about 100 hundred chose to show up at the introduction (inspark) - in Uppsala that was the number that participated in the introduction for my programme alone. And the lunch is expensive - 60kr if you eat there and 50kr if you take it with you!

The programme is OK, some of the teatchers are outright great, others are acceptable. The class is a little odd... In total we are 42, but half of them are going to become foremen (Byggarbetsledare) so next year we'll be about 20. A handful are over 40 years old. Because the school offers a sort of "tekniskt basår" concurrently with the programme 10 or so have not taken mathematics D... As I have alreday told Sara and Da-Ryun many (read most) of the girls are the irritating kind - you know what I mean?

So, for the more positive sides of the situation. I am studying something that I like! I mean, really, really like. That way I think it will be easier for me to motivate myself to actually study... I'm moving to a nice apartment/room. And because I won't move in until October 1st I will be able to buy a couch. And I baught a nice shelf from my cousin who is also moving. The place will be awesome and if you don't come to visit me I will forever hold a grudge! And finally, which is one of the main reasons I am even considering this - Borlänge is 1,5 hours away from Uppsala with train. And I will be able to buy tradera tickets for next to nothing.

That was all for now. If you want to discuss the suckiness of the swedish school system - please give me a call. Actually, give me a call anyway! Oh, and if you want to go downhill skiing at Romme (uttalas Romme med O som i Olov och Orolig - inte Råmme! tro mig, jag har pratat med lokalbefolkningen) this winter you don't have to worry about lodgings.

Economics of Information

Sometimes I love my economics book...

"when most people search for mates, they are looking for someone with whom to settle down. [...] search is costly (and therefore) examining every possible option will never make sense. [...] not even the most determined searcher can manage to date every eligible mate. In this and other cases, people are rational to end their searches, even though they know a more attractive option surely exists out there somewhere.

But herein lies a difficulty. What happens when, by chance, a more attractive option comes along after the search has ceased? Few people would rent a flat if they thought the landlord would kick them out the moment another tenant came along who was willing to pay higher rent. [...] people who are looking for mates would have similar reservations about entering relationships that could be terminated if a better option happened to come along.

This potential difficulty in maintaining stable matches between partners in ongoing relationships would not arise in a world of perfect information. In such a world, everyone would end up in the best possible relationship, so no one would be tempted to renege. But when information is costly and the search must be limited, there will always be the potential for existing relationships to dissolve.

In most contexts, people solve this problem not by conducting an exhaustive search (which is usually impossible, in any event) but by committing themselves to remain in a relationship once a mutual agreement has been reached to terminate the search. [...] And in most countries a marriage contract penalises those who abandon their spouses. Entering into such committments limit the freedom to persue one's own interests. Yet most people freely accept such restrictions, because they know that the alternative is failure to solve the search problem."

Thus it is that the following diagram summarises how to best proceed in the Quest for Love:

Divine Inspiration

It is 23 pm on a Friday night - unusually early for the kind of creative productivity urge that I'm experiencing. Some of you have been bombarded with lengthy text messages - I hope I'm not bothering you all too much. I wish Da-Ryun had finished watching McLeod's daughters, then I could have told you about my emotional state that is very similar to what I felt when I watched the last few episodes of that. But alas! I can not do that without giving her spoilers.

It's a strange feeling - being all alone in a dark room. All is silent and the world is somewhere else. Hundreds of thoughts flash through your mind and time stands still. And at the same time I know that there is not time enough in this life to do all the things that I am thinking of. Somehow I am going to have to sift through all those thoughts and pursue and explore the ones that are worthwhile. At one point in the X-Files Scully tells Mulder that Agent Dogget is worthwhile. I realize now what a huge compliment that is. I hope people find me worthwhile sometimes.

I have finished reading the Great Gatsby and I think that I need to read more of those Great American Novel's - there is a lot to learn about the American people in them. I have also watched Charles Dickens' Bleak House (BBC mini series). If you wonder why I chose that one out of all the BBC production-style dramas that are available it was because it stars Gillian Anderson (Dana Scully for those of you who did not know that already). I do that sometimes, or actually quite often. If I see something that I like in terms of movies and TV-series I look up other movies and series with the same actor/actress because I find that that is a good way to separate what is worthwhile and what is not.

I have also watched a few talk-show appearances with named actress. That is an other thing that I like to do - when I like an actor or actress I like to read about them and watch interviews to get a feeling about their personality, you should try it sometime! In any case I found that Gillian Anderson is quite an interesting person, if you have nothing better to do you should check out her appearances on David Letterman in chronological order, then we can talk about it.

As I informed Da-Ryun about half an hour ago I am going to read a DC comic series called Fables. It uses characters from folklore and since I am currently reading HC Andersens fairy tales I thought that it might be interesting. I hope I'm right. I hope it's worthwhile :)

Strangest of all is that I find a strain of thoughts going through my mind repeatedly. It is really just a few concepts, loosely tied together, but I think that I have a story to tell. It's interesting, I've never felt that before and I might just sit down and write it - if I dare. If I find it worthwhile.

Now I am going to watch Pay it Forward - a very good movie. Very worthwhile. How do I know that? Because it is one of those movies that I pick because of the cast - Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. And also because I have seen it before :p

The Severed Head of a Horse

Watching an episode of the X-Files I was inspired by the mentioning of the weight of a severed head to find out the approximate weight of a male human upper-body. Why this instant leap? Anton wanted to know how big and heavy his Centaur character is. I don't know if you got an answer but here is what I came up with:

The human torso in itself weighs about 2/3 of the total body weight (from now on referred to as TBW). An average man's arm weighs about 6 % of TBW and the head with neck weighs about 5 kg.
For a rather large man, say 90 kg, that would amount to: 60kg (torso) + 2*5,4kg (arms) + 5 kg (head) = ca. 75kg (Yes, I rounded down. It's a nice and even number.).

So uhm, how much does a horse's head and neck weigh? No luck in my googling so I made a very rough estimation: Torso, once again 2/3 of TBW (seems reasonable, in my opinion). That leaves 1/3 for legs and head and neck. My guess is that the legs weigh more than the head and neck, but not by much, 3/5 as opposed to 2/5 of 1/3 of TBW? Let's go for that. That amounts to 2/15 of TBW. Anton was looking at big horses so big horsie it is. Nordsvensk weighs about 600-650kg (I think) so for that breed the head with the neck would weigh about 87 kg (let's make it 90). In that case a Centaur would weigh about 15 kg less than a horse with equal build (with an error margin of 100 % that's still only +/- 30kg).

In finding all this info I got stuck in a trivia hunt (as is often the result of combining late night with boredom and an internet connection). I will not wouch for the credibility of these following statements but I find them interesting (but mostly useless):

On average (a. from now on), women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Right-handed people live on a. 9 years longer than left-handed people.

The a. human can live up to 11 days without water, given a surrounding temperature of 60 F (about 15 C).

An a. person would die from total sleep deprivation after about 10 days, while it takes a few weeks to die from starvation. (That would mean that sleep is as important to the body as water, right?)

The a. human can lose up to 1/3 of her blood without dying.

The ashes of an a. cremated person weighs about 4kg.

The brain has no sensation of pain (not even if it is cut).

The only human body-part that never change size from birth to death is the eye(ball).

The thumb has its own control-center in the brain, separate from the rest of the fingers.

We filter out about 99% of our perceptions. (Imagine what we could do if we just changed that by 1-2%! More than that would probably lead to autism.)

The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as replacement for blood plasma. (Could be useful, if a hemophiliac got stranded on a paradise island. But how do you define "young"?)

Intelligent people have more zink and copper in their hair. (Really?)

More than 2500 persons are killed every year from using right-handed products. (WTF!?)

Dog-Training

After having spent, I don't know, 4 hours trying to determine the constants A, B and C for which (5cosX+9sinX)^2=Acos2X+Bsin2X+C I had lunch. By then I was looking for something else to do but couldn't come up with anything. Then I realized that I would be doing everyone (I mean it, every single person on this planet) a huge favour if I could dicipline our dog a little. But seriously, how long can you go on with Sit! Stay! Lie down! Come! and Search! without geting bored? (About five and a half minute, since he already knows them fairly well, and our house is only so big) He obviously needed a new trick in the repertoire. So I spent an other 10 minutes practicing Stand! Ok, so it's completely useless, so what? It's cool. This dude has hind legs with the movability of an acrobat so he's pretty good at it. Sometimes when we're out walking and he wants to take a look around but the grass is to high for him to see anything he will stand up, balancing on his two hind legs, looking around for a few seconds and then fall back to all four. He looks a bit like an over-sized meerkat...

Perfect timing

I don't think that I have ever caught a train with so small a margin. Literally ten secconds after I sat down in the first available seat the train started moving! Mind note for next time: take the 7:40 bus, not the 8:00 for a train that leaves at 8:28. I was dead all the way home, sadly chance worked against me as circumstances forced me to remain awake for the entire day. Now I have caught up with my sleep and is reasonably alert. I even went up at 9:15 this morning!

I was hoping to be able to return to you guys on thursday but alas! Once again things are not going as I planned. My trip to Uppsala has been postponed to said thursday because my parents are going on a cruise monday-wednesday. Then it turns out that my precence is expected at my grandmothers' on saturday. With all this in mind my new ETA is 17:55 on sunday, July 20th, see you then, I hope. A humble suggestion on my behalf: bring swimwear!

Not quite english

This is a comment to a torrent that I found:
5/5 . This is a great torrent download. And of cause, Age of Empire rocks!!!! Thanks again, for this awesome download. I will endure playing it

Time passes

Tonight Spain and Russia meet in the semi-final in the European Championship in football, usually referred to as soccer by uncivilised people. Now, do not let yourselves be misled to believe that I am actually interested in the silly game - most of the time they are just running around doing nothing for 90 minutes with the occational goal, it is more than enough to set me to sleep any time of the day - my interest in this event is purely... well, let's face it: geeky. The team that wins the game tonight will be facing Germany in the final and as boring as the sport in itself is I can certainly appreciate the analogy to both WWI and WWII! At this very moment I can see myself sitting there by the TV, replacing the names of the players with the appropriate historical figures depending on their actions and achievments in the game. Perhaps David could help me with this? And Sara too, of course.

I realised today for the tenth time this week how isolated I am and that I am most likely going to suffer from severe tristess this summer. I have nothing to do and no money to do anything with, so all I can do is read. A lot. Yesterday, for instance, I finished reading The Blood (the definitive player's guide to the requiem) and is more inspired than ever to play a blood-sucking monster. (Rik: I have an idea, I'll tell you about it next time I call you) And I guess my next project will be to read the entire Arcana Evolved, front to back, no mercy. Oh, and I am watching The X-Files, really good series, if you like character development and conspiracy theories. And then there's a bunch of other films an TV-series to watch. The problem is, as always, that even peeling potatoes with you guys is more interesting and rewarding than sitting alone in a shadowy room reading about/watching people that don't exist.

Random Rants II

I'm sitting at Carolina Rediviva, trying to read a thick and dry book about international trade and fighting an overwhelming tiredness. I don't know why I'm tired, I slept good this night and for once I got up at a responsible hour (9 am). And I'm also hungry, which dosen't make sense since I ate breakfast less than 3 hours ago. This makes me confused.

There is no spoon

Sorry about this but here is a summation of a session of There is no spoon in Swedish:

Madde tar sig in på Wallmart och får på något sätt tag i en svensk enkrona och ska just till att gå ut ur wallmart när Anton förvandlar allt i hela världen till Jello. Rikard äter upp världen och Anton spolar tillbaks tiden tills innan den första svenska enkronan fanns. Madde finns och Kristin tänker medans Rikard blir Jöns Jönsson som levde på 1600-talet.

Anton bygger en enkronefabrik och Madde syr ett wallmart. Madde startar fabriken, jorden försvinner och Madde sätter fast wallmart på mars. Kristin graviterar till sig en enkrona och Rikard byter plats på enkronan och wallmart. Madde sköt wallmart till mars och Rikard fusade Anton och Kristin. Anton/Kristin blir en barriär runt Jöns Jönssons hjärna och Kristin snickrar en kropp på mars.

Rikard kastar Jöns Jönssons hjärna på Madde så att hon dör. Madde återföds som den snickrade kroppen på mars och Rikard gömmer wallmart på en annan planet. Anton/Kristin får på nåt sätt tag i en kropp och börjar slåss om den. Madde hittar en enkrona. Anton/Kristin förökar sig så att de existerar i hela universum. Rikard ändrar definitionen av en svensk enkrona till Jöns Jönssons näsa och Anton rycker loss den. Madde läser positionen av wallmart i Jöns Jönssons hjärna.

Anton/Kristin får en stroke som bara drabbar den delen av deras hjärna som Kristin finns i. Kristin uppstår inuti Jöns Jönssons näsa och rullar den genom att hamster-hjul-springa tills hon kommer fram till wallmart. Vid det laget har de kommit tillbaks till tidpunkten då allting är Jello och Madde står inne på wallmart och håller i Jöns Jönssons näsa. Madde misslyckas med att beama ut ur wallmart och Kristin Månläker allting till hur det var innan varpå Rikard knycker enkronan och vinner spelet eftersom han står utanför wallmart.

Dream

Tonight I had the strangest nightmare... I think it took up right at the end of a previous nightmare where Sara's parents had a cabin in the forest behind the water-filled mining shaft in Grängesberg. They had put us there because there was a war going on. Now they came to pick us up and drive us to somewhere that turned out to be the Celine Dion concert in Globen, only it had been moved to a small cramped stage where our seats had been translated into really bad seats. As if that weren't enough my childhood rival turned up to claim the seat to my right. Then a cute guy came and claimed the seat in between me and Sara. After a while for reason X, since he didn't actually know her, he started making out with the girl to my right.

Then a special part of the show was just about to start. A bunch of celebrity look-alikes, all of whom where more or less hot men in their 40's (no matter what age the celebrities are in reality they looked like they did in their 40's), mixed with the audience. George Clooney passed by on the row below and Stellan Skarsgård walked by before Kevin Costner picked Sara to be his dance partner. Then they started playing Paul McCartney's Live and let Die and Sara was better at the routine than the Kevin Costner dancer. At this point I woke up wondering where the hell Harrison Ford and Paul Newman had been...

Bookclub

I don't know if you noticed but we started a bookclub last week (there's a link to the right), it's called På golvet i hörnet - Böcker är till för att läsas. Do join in!

This is a short version of the next (previous) post

Hudson & Lennox sacrifice two more or less innocent persons in exchange for the instructions for a ritual. Then they go to New York where Lennox threatens to kill Andrew (her brother) if he doesn't do as she says. They fly back to Baltimore where Hudson puts Lennox on fire to drive out an occultist that is possessing her and trying to take over her body. Then Andrew (who is possessed by a guy named Kyle) pulls out a rock and shoots Hudson who turns into a huge werewolf and then runs away after being hit by a bookshelf. Lennox is almost killed when Harper (a vampire) feeds on her and then she goes out to find a guy to have sex with so that Harper will fetch Hudson so that they can put Andrew on fire and drive Kyle out of him. They succeed with the ritual and drops Andrew off at a hospital and Lennox agrees to be the prey when Hudson and Harper compete in hunting.

Gaming - it always makes more sense at 4 a.m.

Hudson and Lennox are just leaving a library located in the spirit realm where the librarian – Jenkins – has informed them that Lennox is being possessed by an occultist called MT Hart. In exchange for instructions on how to drive her out of Lennox they are to deliver two minds to be added to the library, preferably great minds. Being in a bit of hurry they decide to lure a few members of the Levelyn Association into Jenkins’ library (they’re pretty corrupt anyway). They successfully force a woman into Jenkins but as they wait around for an other Harper shows up (he has previously hypnotized Lennox and has very good eyesight). Being scared as hell of him and lacking any better alternative they run into Jenkins’ library but not before Harper has thrown a dagger at Lennox back. Harper follows Hudson and Lennox into the library where he is apparently trapped for the time being.

Lennox goes to the hospital while Hudson finds a student he has previously talked to and tricks her into believing that he has found a secret entrance to a restricted area of the university library. Lennox meets up and they bring her to Jenkins where she becomes a permanent part of his book collection. Harper is pretty upset as it turns out that the girl was his ghoul and he promises that he will come after Hudson and Lennox as soon as he gets out of the library. Lennox starts flirting with him and somehow she ends up agreeing to being hunted by him – at least he doesn’t want to kill her any longer, she hopes. Jenkins informs them that they need a specific symbol (the key of Solomon) to perform the ritual that will drive Hart out of Lennox and gives them the name of a guy that knows it; Kyle. They set off towards New York to find Kyle who just happens to be the former leader of the cult that Andrew, Lennox’ brother is now leading. They meet Andrew and Lennox starts pulling every foul trick she has up her sleeve on account of being his older sister and after a while it is revealed that Kyle is actually possessing Andrew.

Kyle/Andrew agrees to help Lennox with the ritual but it takes some convincing to get them to agree to go to Baltimore (where Jenkins’ library is located). But when they arrive at the helicopter it seems they have changed their mind(s) since there are six armed cult members waiting for them. Lennox puts a gun at Kyle/Andrews forehead and threatens to shoot. “You wouldn’t kill your brother would you?” “I’m not sure.” Kyle/Andrew seems convinced that she is capable of pulling the trigger (might have something to do with the fact that her morality is down at 4 after scarifying innocent people to an evil librarian) and they go to Baltimore.

Just as they arrive at the entrance to Jenkins’ library Harper goes out of it and is apparently disappointed at Lennox. “Are you even trying?” “No.” The prospect of seeing the ritual does, however, offer some consolation. Fortunately Hudson manages to complete the ritual successfully by drenching Lennox in flammable oil and putting her on fire and Hart is added to the library. At this point Kyle/Andrew pulls out a rock (that seems so scare the hell out of Jenkins) and he is about to demand something when Harper slaps the rock out of his hand. Both Hudson and Kyle/Andrew make a run for it and end up pointing guns at each other. Harper takes the rock. Kyle/Andrew shoots Hudson. Lennox shoots Kyle/Andrew. Hudson turns into a huge werewolf and starts to tear Kyle/Andrew (and the library) to pieces. Jenkins turns over a bookshelf at Hudson who subsequently runs off in the library. Harper and Lennox brings Kyle/Andrew out of the library and Harper drains Lennox of most of her blood. Hudson runs out of the library (through a wall) and into the park. Lennox asks Harper if he can go and look for Hudson – sure, in exchange for dinner. Lennox goes out and manages to convince a guy that she is a (healthy) hooker and brings him to the university library where she has sex with him (always time for sex, besides – he was cute). Harper finds Hudson lurking about near the hotel they have been staying at, trying to look like a stray dog. They start talking and seem to have a lot in common. They go back to the university and Harper has his dinner and then they go into Jenkins’ library and set fire on Andrew, making Kyle the latest addition to the library – a fair compensation for Hudson’s outburst. Harper, Lennox and Hudson drive Andrew to a hospital and work out the details for how Hudson and Harper are going to compete at hunting Lennox…

If I build you a house, will you fill it with songs?
So that beautiful melodies would always echo between the walls and fill every room with laughter and hope.

If I build you a house, will you fill it with words?
The stories that you tell nourish our minds and gives meaning to the songs. That would be the purpose of each day.

If I build you a house, will you fill it with thoughts?
Then all nights would be spent in endless conversation and our minds and our souls would thrive and we would be happy.

If I build you a house, will you make it my home?

Morning adventures

I woke up today about 8 am, which is quite remarkable considering I went to bed at 3 am. I knew that some guys were coming to clean our ventilation system "somtime between 07:30 - 16:30". I figured that since I live in the absolute middle apartment in the house I wouldn't have to worry about them until at least 11 o'clock. But when after I had looked at my watch and figured out that I should be asleep I heard some noises from the adjacent apartment and realized that I was probably next. Out of the bed, into the shower, quick breakfast and out into the unneccessary blowy day.
My mission was simple enough: find somewhere to aquire a passed grade in Chemistry A. Because of a slight miscalculation I started by taking a slightly complicated way before I found Ångströmslaboratoriet. That's where Rikard is taking his course and the website referred to that adress. But I had no idea of whom I was supposed to talk to and the website only gave me an email adress and a phone number, but no name. I hate calling people I don't know and I hate calling people I don't know the name of even more. For some reason it justdoesn't feel right. I sat down to browse the website(s) of Uppsala University and after a while I found out of an adress to a general student councelor right next to the old university building. I had gone all the way out to Ångströms for no reason.
As I entered the reception of the student councelor place I thought that I would be lucky if they could give me a good answer at all. My previous experience with student councelors is at the very least discouraging. All my doubts were, however, blown away as I talked to this extremely social woman who recomended that I went to CVL (Centrum för Vuxnas Lärande) because they offered flexible courses. I was there for less than five minutes but before I left I had told her more about my education and future plans than I have told my parents.
At CVL I was met by a, well I was not really met by anyone at all, just a sign that said "If you want to meet a student councelor take a ticket". After a while a really bored looking woman came and we sat down at a table and I told her what I was there for. She was so uninspiring as humanly possible. She just told me to fill in some forms and asked if I wanted to take the flexible course or the internet based course and if I had a copy of my grades. That's all right, she didn't cause any trouble starting to bullshit bureaucracy or anything but man was she boring! The contrast between her and the previous woman was like comparing Gunvor to Magdalena Forsberg.
Anyway, I am now registered to take Gymnasiekemi A between April 14 and May 30 and unless I fail I will be studying at the Royal Institute of Technology (sounds fancy, doesn't it :P) next term.

Report from a place deep in the forest

Fuck! I'm stuffed. I am confused. I don't know what I am going to do... Does it sound omnius? Not really, it's just the usual uncertainty that strikes again. Sometimes I describe myself as a wandering lump of confusion and sometimes that lump takes over completely. It has been building up for at least a few weeks now but I'm still amazed by the force of it. My most pressing concern is that I am no longer sure if I am doing the right thing. Actually I am quite sure that it is not. The problem is that I have no idea of what I should be doing instead. Well, some idea but there is nothing that fits. My choices are more or less endless. All I need to do is somehow getting a grade in Chemistry A, ask for a study leave and start a new programme next semester. But which programme? There are a multitude of factors to consider. First of all; I like Uppsala. I don't want to move to soem other place just because they have a programme I like, I think. There is a programme in Lund that I have thought about before - Brandingenjörsprogrammet- and out of nowhere I get this odd thought that maybe it would be good for me to move away from you guys... Where did that come from!?! Ok, that's too strange to think about, moving on. My other options are Teknisk Fysik and Byggteknik, both located in Uppsala. Then there is always the possibility of combining these somehow. And that's as far as I can push that idea. If I try to go any further I get caught up in an emotional chaos that I don't understand the first bit about.

On top of that I am still in a state of shock after watching McLeod's Daughter's. Every now and then I can think of an event or a moment from this or that episode and out of no where comes this flood of emotion. I have an idea of why that is but non the less it freaks me out. I have never before been that affected by a movie/book/TV-series...

So please, distract me. Make me think of something else. The best thing would be if I could reach some kind of conclusion but I don't think that it is a possibility at the moment. So as I said, distract me!

Taking Chances

Today I looked up the tracklist for the Celine Dion concert me and Sara are going to in June. Now I am happy:

First part (black and silver outfit)
1. Video introduction: "I Drove All Night" (remix)
2. "I Drove All Night"
3. "I Got the Music in Me"
4. "The Power of Love"
5. "Taking Chances"
6. "It's All Coming Back to Me Now"
7. "Because You Loved Me"
8. "To Love You More"

Second part (white blouse and red slacks)
9. New Mego's Flamenco (instrumental)
10. "Eyes on Me"
11. "All by Myself"

Third part (glittering fashion victim outfit)
12. Interval video: "My Heart Will Go On" (remix)
13. "I'm Alive" (remix)
14. "Shadow of Love"
15. "Fade Away" (performed between February 16-20, 2008)
16. "Can't Fight the Feelin'"
17. "I'm Your Angel" (with Barnev Valsaint)
18. "Alone"
19. "Pour que tu m'aimes encore"
20. "Think Twice"

Fourth part (white dress with silver strap heels)
21. "We Will Rock You"
22. "The Show Must Go On"

Fifth part (silver and gold 'Tina Turner' outfit)
23. "Soul Man" / "Lady Marmalade" / "Respect" (by band and background vocalists)
24. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
25. "That's Just the Woman in Me"
26. "Love Can Move Mountains"
27. "River Deep, Mountain High"

Fifth part (Long yellow outfit)
28. "My Heart Will Go On"

Other tracks

According to the Taking Chances Tour Book, Dion will also perform "Sir Duke," "Sex Machine" and "I Got the Feelin'." And during the French leg of the tour she will also sing: "Ziggy," "Je sais pas," "J'irai où tu iras," "Destin," "S'il suffisait d'aimer," "On ne change pas," "Dans un autre monde," "Tout l'or des hommes," "Je lui dirai," "Je ne vous oublie pas," "Et s'il n'en restait qu'une," "Immensité" and "J'ai la musique en moi" (French version of "I Got the Music in Me").

I reckon there's no need for further comments. [I have been watching McLeod's Daughter's a LOT, shame that Lisa Chappell that plays Claire quit the show in the third season.] Otherwise I am "helping" my mother fix things for the party tonight. Not that she let's anyone do anything. So far my tasks have been: Cryshing ice, (riva ost), moving furniture and put sugar on glasses. Thank God there's only one of these birthdays per person in the family, she gets all worked up and everything is so horrible and no one is helping her and bla bla bla. Right now I have managed to escape into safety at home. I have to go and get ready, the party is only 4 hours away!

I guess that's what happens when you lack direction

Someone [read Rikard] once [a few days ago] said that strange things happen to people when they are left alone for too long. I guess we all have our different quirks and that we all have our ways of passing time. Sara plays Donkey Kong. I make patterns. Sometimes I knit or sew (brodera) a table cloth. Sometimes I build perfectly symmetrical houses in the Sims. Sometimes I just draw lines on a paper.


I am always amazed when I realize that I have just spent 3-4 hours doing something that is so extremely monotonous without getting bored. I don't even get hungry. I tend to notice that I am getting cold or that my neck hurts, but that's it. If I am listening to music at the same time I have no idea what songs have been played.

Why is it that I can put such ridiculous amount of energy into something so utterly pointless when I can hardly motivate myself to read a textbook for school that I find really interesting? Imagine what I could achieve if I could channel just half of that energy and commitment into something useful.

Do you ever feel that your priorities are a bit messed up?

Juno

Went to see Juno today, it was good! Go see it! But seriously, who names a kid Liberty Bell? On the other hand the writer's name is Diablo Cody. For real.

On the road...

This has been a movie-weekend. Not that I've watched more movies than I usually do on weekends. Anyway, I saw Road to Perdition (Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Daniel Craig) and I fell in love with the soundtrack. The movie is okay and when I discovered that it is based on a graphic novel I instantly knew that I was relieved because I knew I would like the story better that way, especially since the bad guy will not be Jude Law. But the music really is amazing - I can't remember when I last saw a movie with a better soundtrack. And today I saw Bad Santa (again) - my God that is a tragic story! Then I spent a few hours obsessing over this independent movie coming up later this year I think - Birds of America. Why? Mainly because it stars Lauren Graham and I am really curious to find out whether she's a good actress or just good at playing Lorelai. And Hillary Swank is in it too - that's a good sign as far as I am concerned. Next week I me and Sara will go and see Juno at the cinema, something to look forward to!

The moralic Gilmores

As some of you might know I've been watching way to much Gilmore girls lately, I am currently halfway through the sixth season out of seven and I started with season one the week before christmas. Gilmore girls is a great show and there is a lot of things that I could write about and I have a list of quotes on my computer but all of that is, well, pointless if you haven't seen it. If you haven't seen it - do! In general the series is what people would call a "chick"-show, but when guys sees it they are always positively surprised. (So far I have never met a guy that didn't like it at least a bit.) But this is not what I was going to talk about.

Gilmore girls is a family show, wich means no swearing - unless it is absolutely called for. No sex-scenes or nudity (except for Kirk), they usually cut the scene before it gets to hot and then resume it when all is done and they are covered with sheets. People don't smoke - the few times that you see a person smoking it is because the character is to be portrayed as bad or decadent. In one scene they use a cigarette to show how Jess, a classical bad-boy, tries to make a good impression on Rory. The other two times I can remember seing a cigarette on screen is a rich and spoiled girl and her mother. I can not recall ever seing a statist smoking.

Obviously they are very careful to set a good example with the show and it is therefor I was surprised when I finally realised that almost every character in the show seems to have no problems driving after they have been drinking. They don't drive when they are visibly drunk but many times thay have had quite a lot to drink. I'm am not certain whether Rory, an extremely well-behaved girl, does it but almost everybody else does on occation. Logan, Emily, Richard... the list is long. They do reference to the concept of don'r drink and drive a few times though, at one point a minor character is pointed out as the designated driver - but he has by then joined the navy and is portrayed as recently mature and responsible. At one point Emily is arrested for driving under the influence and at an other time Lorelai makes a joke about it. That is all. And the thing that stands out most, in my opinion, is that Lorelai (who's major character flaw when it comes to marals is that she her relationeships tend to erode quickly wich might indicate that she does not take them seriously...) does it almost every week, after friday night dinner. And I know that she must be at least "salongsberusad" since her average intake of alcohol is at least two martinis and two glasses of wine in the course of about two and a half hour. I believe the limit is 0,8 permille in USA and with that intake Lorelai should have reached over 0,9 permille. In Sweden the legal limit for blood alcohol concentration is 0,2 permille - an amount that for most people is exceeded by drinking one beer (folköl).

I'm busy, leave a message.

That will be my new voice-mail as of tomorrow. I just got the reading instructions for the first half of the course. I pannicked. Then I sat down and organized my calender for half an hour and now I have a plan. I will be reading what I should for the first two weaks. The third week I will shift back to what I should have read for the last two weeks. And then I will read the last 5 chapters of the economics book the week after that. So from now on I will NOT HAVE TIME to do anything social from Sunday to Friday. Hopefully I will have Friday and Saturday free, but there is no guarantee. I'm a slow reader folks...

Random Rants

People have requested a new post: fine, I'll write you a post. The only problem is that I don't really have anything to write about. Nothing extraordinary has happened to either in real life or in my mind. Well, there was that electrician that came by on new years but I'm sure you've all heard about that by now. In case you haven't and since I don't have anything better to write I'll go ahead anyway.

At 9:30 in the morning (2 January) me and Da-Ryun wake up abruptly - someone has knocked on the door. We both wait for a while, me: wondering wether it was just a dream. When a second knock is heard I drag myself out of bed and goes to open the door. It is snowing. And there's a guy standing there in a red jacket. He looks good. "Hi, we're here to change the electricity-meter" I burst into laughter - my way of saying: get outta of here! Then I just say: "Wait a minute" I go into the big room and wake Sara. "There's a guy here to change the electricity-meter" "You're kidding!" Sara sounds almost insulted. I leave the electrician to her and go to the bathroom. When I get out Sara has gone back to bed. I ask her what he said. "The're shutting down the power for like ten minutes. He looked good!" "I know!" I walk back into the bedroom. "How often does things like that happen?!" "Mmm" - Da-Ryun is already half asleep. Afterwards I find out that Madde was awake aswell and that they both could tell just from his voice that he was eyecandy.

That story done I will continue with random rants. I have now bought the complete series of Gilmore Girls. Yep, it was expensive. But sooo worth it! I have also aquired the first five books of a series written by John Marsden. As soon as I have read the first book again I will try to force it upon you. Me and Sara has been shopping for glasses. Successfully to that. I have also decided to go abroad as an exchange-student next year. I shall tell my parents as soon ass I've had a meeting with our student-councelor.